From Tuscaloosa News| Customers who ate at the McDonald's in Northport on McFarland Boulevard between Feb. 28 and March 14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Customers who visited the restaurant on March 14 or during breakfast hours on March 16 are asked to contact their health-care provider as soon as possible to receive a hepatitis A vaccine, because an infected employee may have spread the virus.

“Hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin can prevent hepatitis A virus infection, but only when given within 14 days of exposure,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer.

That means that anyone who ate at the restaurant on those dates should receive treatment no later than Friday. People previously vaccinated for hepatitis A are considered protected from the virus.

People who ate at the restaurant before March 14 should have gotten ill by now if they contracted the virus, said Dr. Albert White, area health officer for ADPH area 3.

According to the CDC, hepatitis A can appear two to six weeks after exposure.

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